Nowhere Left to Run
by The Batchild
Summary: When the kaiju came through the Breach, they both tore the world apart and unified it. The PPDC rose up, and all Elissa wanted from that moment was to be a part of the fight. Her years in the PPDC built her up and broke her down, and she embedded herself in her work to run from everything. But when there is nowhere left to run, it's time to find a way to become whole again.
1. The Icebox

_Anchorage, November 22, 2016_

"I see it! I can see the Shatterdome!"

"Sit back and put your seatbelt on."

Elissa turned to face her father, eyebrows raised and lips pressed together over an amused laugh. He was sitting as far back in his seat as humanly possible, hands gripping the edge of it with white knuckles. "You know, for someone who has spent their life fixing helicopters and planes and a whole mess of other big things, you really don't fly well, Dad. You don't do boats well either, come to think of it."

Chris met his daughter's gaze with a fairly annoyed look. "Well I don't fix them in the air or on the water, Elissa. Would you please sit back?"

The fifteen year-old huffed impatiently, but sat back and buckled the harness-like seat belt around her upper body. She shot a questioning look to her father, who just nodded and gave a weak smile to show he was happy with her new situation. Elissa sat back in her chair and returned to staring out the window, the shape of the Anchorage Shatterdome just visible through the blowing snow, and she focused hard on the place that would become her new home.

Elissa had always wanted to be a pilot. Growing up around airplanes will do that to a girl. Between being bullied for her height and supposed weakness, and getting into fights defending herself, Elissa had never done well in traditional schools, so she'd been homeschooled, and that, in combination with helping her father fix things, had given her an unorthodox education that just fueled her desires to fly. But she loved to fix things too, and was more than content with thinking she'd follow in her father's footsteps; she had inherited his affinity and love for machines after all and spent more time in the garage than anywhere else.

But that had been life before Trespasser came through the Breach.

Elissa remembered sitting in their living room in Toronto, watching the frantic coverage of the massive beast attacking San Francisco. She'd been terrified and fascinated at the same time, watching the kaiju plow through the water, moving more gracefully than should have been possible. She remembered finding whatever news coverage she could of the battles against Hundun in Manila, Kaiceph in Cabo San Lucas, Scissure in Sydney. She remembered watching the planes fly in with their nukes, watching the debates over what could be done to stop these beasts that didn't make cities unlivable, didn't require nuclear weapons, the first discussions about Jaegers, the announcement that the Jaeger Program was a go.

She remembered watching as Karloff came ashore in Vancouver and as Brawler Yukon, the first fully functional Jaeger, beat the shit out of the kaiju.

From that day, all she wanted was to be near the Jaegers. She read about them, studied the blueprints, knew them as well as she could without being able to touch them. Elissa wanted to help build and maintain them and, more than that, she wanted to pilot one. Thanks to her father's connection to and friendship with Marshal Stacker Pentecost—a bond formed during her father's work with the RAF—Elissa was getting to work on the giant mechs, under special circumstances. She had no other family she could stay with while Chris was working, and Pentecost wanted her father on his technician team at the newly-opened Anchorage Shatterdome bad enough to allow it.

"Looks like the storm is getting worse," Chris said, pulling Elissa from her thoughts. "Hopefully they don't have any trouble landing this bird."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Dad. They fly up here all the time—it's Alaska, I'm sure snow storms are a common thing."

The helicopter gave a violent lurch as Elissa finished speaking, the turbulence picking up the closer they go to the Shatterdome. She laughed and her father winced. Elissa pulled herself as close to the window as she could, eager to see the Shatterdome materialize through the blowing snow as the helicopter started zeroing in on the landing pad. There were a few people outside, obscured by heavy parkas, running about securing or covering things to protect them from the wind and snow, but a lone figure in the middle of the deck quickly drew Elissa's attention.

"I think the Marshal is waiting for us," she said as the helicopter dropped into place.

Chris, who was looking significantly greener than he had a few minutes ago, nodded. "He said he might." He slowly undid his seatbelt and then doubled over, his head between his knees.

"You gonna be all right?" Elissa asked, already on her feet and slipping her bags onto her shoulders.

"Just give me a second."

Elissa nodded before reaching down to take her heavy toolbox in hand, freeing it from the netting that was keeping it, and the rest of their things, from sliding around during flight. She nearly bounced down the steps onto the Shatterdome deck, her red hair whipping around in a sudden burst of wind. A smile lit her face as she stood, waiting for her father to hustle down the steps and then she fell in behind him, head raised despite the wind, eyes narrowed as she tried to take in the Shatterdome around her through the storm; she wanted to see everything.

Father and daughter pushed through the snow to stand in front of Marshal Pentecost, an imposing dark-skinned man, wearing a long, sharp coat, that Elissa guessed hid an impeccably pressed suit. "Mr. Jayden," he called over the wind, hand extended. "It is good to see you again."

"You too, Marshal."

That was all that was said before the Marshal turned and started back towards the Shatterdome, the Jaydens on his heels. Once they were inside the elevator and headed down into the building proper, Chris and Pentecost exchanged grips again, slight smiles on their lips. It was an odd greeting, but Elissa had seen her father participate in similar rituals with the people he worked with over the years and assumed it was just sort of a military thing. She might have said it was a man thing, but her father had greeted the female military personnel in the same way, and they him. She stood by and waited to be addressed, rocking slightly on her heels.

"This is my daughter, Elissa," Chris said, gesturing to his daughter.

Elissa gave a slight jolt, set her toolbox down, and stepped up, taking the Marshal's offered hand and smiling up at him. He met her bright expression with a more stoic one that instantly made Elissa straighten her shoulders and reign her excitement in. Marginally, anyway. "It's nice to meet you, Marshal," she said. "I've heard a lot about you."

"And I, you."

"Thank you for letting me come with my Dad," Elissa continued, unable to bear the few seconds of silence as Pentecost sized up his youngest crew member.

He nodded and Elissa got the distinct impression further small talk was not needed or particularly wanted. She gave him another smile before withdrawing into her own thoughts, dimly aware of the deep rumble of conversation as her father and Stacker caught up. The teenager might have paid more attention to what was being said, but at that moment, the doors opened, revealing a short hallway and beyond that, the central hub of the Shatterdome.

The two men walked out, still conversing, and without so much as a second's hesitation, Elissa headed down the hall after them, eyes glued to the dull glint of light on metal and her mind completely focused on what she would find in that central area. She stepped past the heavy security doors to the central staging area, currently open and permitting the flow of traffic, and stood just inside, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as she took in the sight of the five bays, three of them currently housing a Jaeger.

To her right was Brawler Yukon, the first fully functional Jaeger, and to her left was Chrome Brutus, Canada's only Jaeger to date. It hadn't launched yet, but it had a name and pilots and would be fully operational as soon as the final tests were run. They both stood tall and proud, technicians crawling over them, building and repairing and upgrading and maintaining. Ahead of Elissa stood a mech she'd never seen before. It wasn't one-hundred percent finished, but it wouldn't be too long before it was out there, fighting kaiju and saving the world. Elissa gazed at it with a sort of hungry anticipation, her hands itching to work on the giant machine.

"That one will be something else when it's finished."

Elissa started again and turned towards the new voice, the smile brought on by the Shatterdome and the Jaegers stuck on her face. An Asian man was standing beside her, with slick-backed hair and wearing a bowtie and suspenders, and he was looking at the unfinished mech with the same hungry, admiring look Elissa knew was on her own face.

"It'll be a Mark III?" she asked.

The man nodded, a lopsided smile taking over his features as he met her gaze and his eyes filling with a light that was damn near mischievous. "Set to launch as soon as it's completed, probably about the middle of next year." He extended his hand. "Tendo Choi: J-Tech, stationed in the local command centre."

"Elissa Jayden."

Tendo nodded as he shook her hand, like her name triggered something in his mind. "Technician, working with your father? I read your file and your father's this morning. I like to be familiar with the other techs," he added when Elissa raised her eyebrows at him.

"I have a file?"

"Everyone involved in the Jaeger Program does, Pixie."

"Elissa!" Chris called suddenly, voice echoing across the vast space and gleaming floors.

She looked across the space and saw her father standing in front of the elevator, her toolbox at his feet, where he'd placed it after removing it from the lift. Pentecost was nowhere to be seen—probably gone to attend to some important duty as Marshal—and the look her father was giving her was enough for her to know he was getting impatient. Chris well knew how to deal with his daughter and her near-boundless enthusiasm, but even he had his limits.

Elissa turned back and smiled at Tendo. "Don't call me Pixie," she warned through a smile.

Tendo returned the grin and the wave Elissa tossed over her shoulder as she headed back to her father's side.

"Sorry Dad," she said, scooping up her toolbox and falling into step beside Chris as he headed back down the hall. "It's just… Jaegers! We're here!"

Chris tried to keep his expression stern and fatherly, but it cracked under the wattage of his daughter's smile; her excitement may have worn him out occasionally, but he would rather that than she her loose the joy driving her. "I know, I know, but we start work in the morning, and I don't know about you, but I need to get some rest. I would like to find our rooms, and then you can go explore if you want. As long," he added with a pointed look at his redheaded daughter, "as you stay out of the way."

"I will, Dad."

Elissa and Chris made their way through the halls of the Shatterdome, following directions on a piece of paper in a folder Elissa hadn't noticed her Dad had until then. The folder had presumably come from the Marshal. After a few minutes, and only one misstep, the Jaydens found themselves standing in the proper hallway, in front of room B13—Elissa's room. Chris opened the door and Elissa headed inside, dropping her bags and toolbox on the bed and looking around the small quarters with a satisfied expression.

"Are you going to be okay to find your way around?" Chris asked when Elissa was facing him again. He handed her a badge and a few sheets of paper.

She cast a cursory glance before tossing the items on her bed as well, and nodded. "There are enough signs and directions painted on walls, and one of those pieces of paper you handed me was a map, I think, so I should be fine. And hey, I like to explore, so…"

"Elissa—"

"Do you think there'll be time to visit the Academy?"

Chris rolled his eyes and ran a hand back over his hair, scratching the back of his head. "We start work in the morning," he said in a defeated tone. "So no. Not… not for a while, anyway. Just, let us get settled in first and then we'll see, okay?"

Elissa's face fell slightly, but she made herself smile. "Don't worry too much, Dad. I can wait to see it until I join next year, I guess," she said, grinning as the expected exasperation spread over her father's face. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her Dad, hugging him tightly and laughing when he sighed, returning the hug almost begrudgingly. He kissed the top of her head though, and Elissa knew it was genuine. "I'll behave. Promise."

"And stay out of the way?"

"And stay out of the way."

Chris ruffled his daughter's hair as he stepped back and turned to the hall. "I'll see you bright and early."

"Bright and early," Elissa agreed. She stepped out onto the top of the steps leading to her room and watched Chris disappear into his room down the hall. "Love you!"

"Love you too."

Still grinning and bubbling with excitement, Elissa returned to the pile of stuff on her bed, the door clanging shut behind her. She tucked her toolbox on the floor under her bed, stacked her favoured novels on the shelf and placed her two tablets on the desk. Her clothes remained in the bag on her bed to be unpacked later, and she scattered her other assorted belongings around in the vicinity of where they'd end up permanently. Satisfied with her quick unpacking, Elissa changed from her jeans and sweatshirt to coveralls and a thermal shirt, tying the coverall sleeves around her waist, and lacing up her work boots around her ankles. She pinned the ID badge from the pile of paper her father had given her to the coverall, and headed out into the hall, whipping her hair up into a messy pile at the back of her head, and securing it with a hair elastic from around her wrist as she moved.

Elissa felt suddenly comfortable and at home in the Shatterdome. Another smile took over her face as she began her exploration, realizing too late she'd forgotten her map in her room.

* * *

"Just another month Yancy **,** and then no more simulations—we'll be here, fighting kaiju for real!"

"Yeah, provided you don't screw up."

Raleigh Becket punched his brother lightly in the arm, fought the grin that wanted to take over his features. "It was your fault we screwed up the last time, and that was months ago. We've been golden ever since." He dodged the hand swinging out in retaliation and, laughing, bounced back a few steps, bringing his own hands up into a fighting stance. "Besides, I never screw up," he sniffed, taking a couple of practice swings, his knuckles brushing Yancy's arm.

"Is that so?"

The brothers exchanged a few blows at half-strength, their laughter preceding them down the halls of the Shatterdome as they pelted each other's arms and sides.

They'd been informed the day before of their assignment to the Anchorage Shatterdome, dependent on their performance in the last month of their time at the Kodiak Island Academy. However, as it was unlikely something would cause them to wash out at this point, and because the PPDC liked to move fast where new pilots were concerned, they'd come to the Shatterdome to get the paperwork for their assignment started. Drift compatible duos were not easy to find, even with the mass amounts of people who applied to the Academy and, once a pair was found, there was no time to be wasted. They were fighting to save the world, after all.

With some time to kill before they were due back at Kodiak Island, the brothers had decided to seek out Tendo Choi, a technician they'd met and instantly become friends with a few months ago during a visit to the Shatterdome with their class. Tendo was usually in the command centre, surrounded by bright screens and blueprints, so that was where Raleigh headed, Yancy keeping pace beside him as they moved in synch through the halls.

Raleigh was also hoping Tendo would be able to show the brothers their Jaeger. He knew the mech wasn't finished, but he was anxious to see her, to get to know the machine he would be piloting alongside Yancy. When the Beckets had enlisted the year before, neither of them had had high hopes for their placement in the Jaeger Program, but their talent for fighting and their already deep bond had launched them to the top of their class and their excitement, their drive had grown exponentially. Raleigh found he'd already grown attached to the idea of their Jaeger. As they neared LOCCENT, Raleigh's usual vibrating energy had multiplied until he was practically bouncing.

As expected, LOCCENT was where they found Tendo. However, unexpectedly, he was not alone.

Sitting on the edge of a chair next to Tendo and leaning forward over the desk—one hand under her chin and the other pointed at a computer screen—was a diminutive, redheaded girl. Her eyes were wide and shining with intelligence as she listened to Tendo and studied a blueprint of the PPDC's newest Jaeger, the one Raleigh and Yancy were set to pilot in the coming year. She looked nearly as excited about the Jaeger as Raleigh felt.

"They're using the gen-2 plasma canon for her?" Raleigh heard her ask as he approached. Neither she nor Tendo seemed to have noticed the Becket brothers had entered the room, and with just a few other crew members working quietly at their own stations, that was saying something. "It may have a higher capacity for rounds than the gen-1, but they lock up if they get too waterlogged. They should have gone with the gen-1. The older style can be modified to hold more rounds."

Tendo smirked and tapped the screen directly in front of the girl with the end of his pen. "A team of engineers developed a new housing for the canon to prevent the weapon from getting waterlogged. The finished it last month. You can see the difference in shape just below the elbow joint." The girl pulled herself closer to the screen, drew her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied the arm casing. "The gen-2 also has a smoother, faster reload and less recoil, things that are more difficult to modify."

The girl made a noise of understanding and leaned closer to the screen, using the keyboard in front of her to zoom in on the mech's arm.

"What happened Tendo?" Yancy asked, announcing their presence. He moved passed Raleigh, who had stopped to listen to the conversation. "You get yourself a girlfriend when we weren't looking?"

Tendo and the girl both started and turned around. He got to his feet a second later to exchange grips with Raleigh and Yancy, a wide and welcoming smile on his face. "Hey there Becket Boys! It's been a while since we saw your faces around the 'Dome." Tendo gestured to the redhead, who rose to her feet as well and smiled at Raleigh and Yancy. "This is Elissa Jayden. J-Tech like yours truly. Elissa, this is Yancy and Raleigh Becket, the duo set to pilot the new Jaeger."

"Nice to meet you," Elissa said as she shook Yancy's hand. "She's going to be a fabulous machine."

"You're a mechanic?" Raleigh asked when she turned to him.

She stood maybe five-foot-four in her work boots, minus an inch without them, and came up to just about his shoulder. Her red hair was long, wavy and unbound and she didn't look like the type to climb over giant mechs and get herself covered in grease. However, there was unmistakable strength in her handshake, something steely about her whole demeanour, and it was clear she knew what she was talking about when it came to Jaegers.

There wasn't any hostility in his voice—or at least, Raleigh didn't think there was—but the friendly smile dropped off Elissa's face and she exhaled through her nose in a huff. Her entire bearing shifted, like she was expecting an argument or fight, preparing for it.

"Yeah," she snapped. "You're a pilot?" she asked in a disbelieving tone.

One corner of Raleigh's mouth pulled up in a smirk. "Not yet."

She fought the smile for a few seconds before getting it under control, which only made Raleigh smile more. Beside them, Yancy and Tendo rolled their eyes. Elissa narrowed her eyes at Raleigh, but the rigidity had dropped from her shoulders. Tendo refocused the conversation onto the unfinished mech and the quartet settled around the computer screen to discuss the capabilities and specifications of the Jaeger.


	2. The Becket Boys

_Anchorage, December 12, 2016_

"I thought I told you to go and get your arm looked at."

Elissa shrugged and adjusted her position on the mech's shoulder so she could reach farther into the nest of wiring and get to the problem area. They were working on the unfinished and unnamed Jaeger now. Chrome Brutus was undergoing a final tune-up before the systems and neural handshake tests began, and it was being handled by a small, very specialized crew. Not that Elissa minded the change. She'd worked on Chrome Brutus for most of her first few weeks in the Shatterdome, and she found she preferred working on the newer mech. Something about the potential contained within the unknown appealed to her.

Being able to answer Raleigh and Yancy's questions about their future Jaeger was also beneficial, if only because it made her life easier. The Becket Boys—as she'd taken to calling them under Tendo's influence—were curious and wanted to be kept informed of every minimal development, especially Raleigh, whose questions were almost incessant.

"It's just a scratch," she said, continuing to work. Elissa got a handful of the wires and taped them out of the way. "It'll heal on its own."

Chris reached forward and tugged at the edge of the rag his daughter had wrapped around her wound. She'd secured it with duct tape, but it barely held. She winced and pulled her arm away, tucking it against her chest and glaring at her dad.

"Well your 'scratch' is dripping onto the wiring and if you get any blood in the connection ports, you'll have to scrub them out." He caught Elissa's gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Go to the infirmary and get your arm patched up, Elissa," he said in his sternest voice. "Now."

She rolled her eyes and climbed to her feet, clambering back up onto the nearby catwalk before freeing herself from the safety harness. "Fine," she snapped, "but all the doctors are going to do is put a bandage on it. It's not that bad."

"Elissa."

She huffed and hooked the harness to the railing of the catwalk so it would be there when she got back. "I'm going, I'm going."

Elissa turned her back on the Jaeger and her father, and adjusted the way her tool belt was sitting on her hips before setting off; she could feel her father watching her until she reached the end of the catwalk, so she had no choice but to leave. Blood had begun to soak through her makeshift bandage so she wrapped another rag around it, the second one significantly dirtier than the first, and tied it in a knot to hold it. The climb down to the gantry was a little awkward, but she managed.

She followed the usual paths through the hallways beyond the repair bay, the ones Tendo had showed her on her first day in the Shatterdome. Or what she remembered of them anyway. She was getting to know the place quite well, but sometimes she still got lost in the twists and turns, especially when her mind was stuck in her work and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

When she turned a corner a few minutes later for example, expecting to see the medical facilities, she found herself looking at the doors to the gym and the kwoon instead. She huffed loudly and snapped out a curse she never would have used in front of her father.

"You sound like you might be lost."

Elissa turned to face the newcomer, frustration washing from her at the sound of a familiar voice. He was tall, blond, and had a small grin on his face as he stood beside his slightly shorter, older, and brunette brother—Raleigh and Yancy Becket. Elissa offered them a slight smile, her wounded arm held against her stomach as she did her best to ignore the worsening pain in her arm.

"I might be a little lost," she admitted.

"And I'm guessing you need the infirmary," Raleigh chimed in, gesturing at her arm, "which we just passed back that way."

Elissa looked down the hall in the direction Raleigh had indicated, wondering where she'd made the wrong turn, and then looked down at her arm, where blood had started to come through the second cloth. The bleeding was getting worse. "Damn it," she muttered. She gave her head a little shake and looked up at Raleigh, over to Yancy. "Lead the way, I guess. I'm not sure I want to get lost again."

She started walking without waiting for a confirmation or agreement of any kind, her steps accompanied by the soft clanking of her tools at her hips. The brothers looked at each other before Yancy shrugged and stepped out front to lead the way, and Raleigh fell in beside Elissa, just in case. She lifted her arm and clamped hr other hand around it, but there was still blood dripping down her arm, pooling in the bend of her elbow. The cut must have been deeper than she's thought.

"How'd you cut your arm?"

Elissa looked at Raleigh, her lips pressed into a thin line. "On your Jaeger. She's a stubborn one." He chuckled and she looked at him, found herself smiling though she wanted to remain in surly obedience to her pain. "I'm working on her with my dad while Chrome Brutus is prepped for testing. I cut my arm when a panel wouldn't open. My arm hit a hinge or something while I was fighting with it, I think, and gouged it open."

"Why didn't you head to the infirmary right away?" Yancy asked over his shoulder.

Elissa laughed as she exhaled. "Aside from apparently not knowing where it is?" Elissa shrugged. "I got the panel open and started working. Bound it with a rag and duct tape and kinda forgot about it."

"You forgot about a deep gash in your arm?"

"I forget a lot while I'm working."

Raleigh snorted. "Apparently."

Elissa looked sideways at the blond Becket and smiled wider; it was hard not to in the face of Raleigh's seemingly perpetual good mood.

The trio arrived at the infirmary a few seconds later, where a friendly-faced nurse immediately sat Elissa down at a narrow table where she could examine, clean, and stitch up the wounded arm. Elissa expected Yancy and Raleigh to say their goodbyes and return to whatever it was they'd been doing before stumbling upon her, but instead, they leaned against a nearby counter and crossed their arms over their chests. Elissa would never have admitted it, but she liked seeing the Beckets move in synch, like they were connected via drift even outside the pons. It was an odd mix of eerie and comforting. She smiled to herself as the nurse set to work.

"Don't you two have anything better to do than watch me get my arm sewn back together?" she asked as the nurse injected the local anaesthetic. Elissa wiggled her fingers slightly as her arm began to tingle.

"Actually, we don't," Yancy admitted. "We were just on our way back to the Academy when we found you."

"So why don't you head back?"

Yancy shrugged. "This is more fun."

"Glad my pain is so enjoyable to you two," Elissa said, rolling her eyes.

Raleigh reached forward and ruffled the redhead's hair, resulting in Elissa getting a sharp rap on the shoulder from the nurse when she twisted and attempted to swat Raleigh, pulling her arm out of the nurse's care. The brothers laughed and the nurse supplied a box of tongue depressors for Elissa to use as ammunition, as long as she kept her injured arm still. The attack passed in hails of laughter from the young adults and small smiles from the nurse, leaving a smiling Raleigh and Yancy to drop into chairs next to Elissa.

"Have you thought of a name for your Jaeger yet?" Elissa asked, turning her head away from where the nurse finally begun to stitch the skin closed. She didn't have any real aversion to stitches, but watching it happen and feeling to corresponding tugs on her skin was making her a little unsteady.

Raleigh shook his head. "No."

"If you don't hurry up and find a name, I'm going to do it for you," Yancy warned.

"Hey—"

"Well," Elissa interjected, "whatever you name her, make it something strong. She's not even fully functional yet and she's already drawn blood."

"Maybe if we could get down there and see her I could come up with a name."

Elissa narrowed her hazel eyes at Raleigh. "You know I'm not allowed to take you down there. It's restricted to J-Tech personnel and pilots and you two are neither."

"What if we offered to take you to the Academy in exchange?" Yancy suggested.

Elissa feigned shock, touching her uninjured hand to her chest as if the idea rattled her to her very core. "Why Yancy Becket! That would be bribery! What's next, blackmail?"

"May I reminded you," the nurse said, one eyebrow raising as she paused in her stitching to regard the guests in her infirmary, "that I am a witness to this conversation and I will not lie should the three of you get yourselves into trouble." Elissa didn't doubt the sincerity of the nurse's warning, but the woman was smiling, ever so slightly, as she spoke. "And you, Ms. Jayden, need to take the rest of the day off to let your arm heal. You can resume work tomorrow as long as you don't put too much strain on your arm."

Elissa's face fell. "Are you serious?"

"Very." The nurse got up from the table, returning a moment later with a small orange bottle. "Here are some painkillers for you to take once the local anesthetic wears off and come and see me tomorrow morning so I can change your bandages."

Elissa nodded and got to her feet, though she couldn't summon a friendly smile as she bid the nurse goodbye. She liked working and taking the rest of the day off would leave her bored and restless. She studied the pill bottle and its warnings before looking up at Raleigh and Yancy, sighing heavily. The trio started walking through the halls of the Shatterdome again, Yancy looping an arm around Elissa's shoulders as they went.

"Cheer up Itty Bitty," he said, laughing when she jabbed two fingers into his ribs at the nickname.

Raleigh ruffled her hair again and grinned at her when she glared up at him. "If you're not going to be working for the rest of the day, come back to the Academy with us. We'll show you around. We know how much you want to see it."

She disengaged from the boys and turned around so she was walking backwards down the hall in front of them, a small smile on her face. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just going to go take my meds and lay down. I think my dad might kill me if took off without telling him where I was going, especially after an injury like this," she said, waving her injured forearm a bit. "And I would like to get back to work tomorrow. I'll see you guys around."

"You work too much!" Raleigh called after her as she turned her back to them.

Elissa waved as she walked away.

* * *

 _Anchorage, December 19, 2016_

"Aren't you going to get in trouble for bringing us down here?"

Tendo shrugged and leaned forward on the railing. "I'll risk it. You two do officially join the ranks of the famed Jaeger pilots in two days after all." He smiled at the Beckets. "And you can call it a belated birthday present if you want, Raleigh."

The younger Becket nudged Tendo's shoulder with his elbow as a thank you. His birthday had been eight days before. There hadn't been much time for celebration with the last-minute prep for the few who were graduating from the Jaeger Academy, but the brothers had managed to weasel some extra dessert out of the people working in the cafeteria and Yancy had even found a candle somewhere. Raleigh hadn't wished for anything when he'd blown the flame out—since the beginning of the Kaiju War, wishing seemed fruitless—but it had been a nice little moment and had reminded Raleigh of the way he and Yancy had celebrated their birthdays when they were young: sneaking downstairs after their parents had gone to bed to snag another piece of cake, eaten with their hands in the glow of the fridge light.

"I know it'll be a while before she's ready for a fight, but it's good to see her without the glass of LOCCENT in between. Any chance you could get us up in the conn-pod?" Raleigh asked, one eyebrow rising.

Tendo snorted. "Not likely. I might be able to swing getting the two of you onto the gantry, but no one is getting their hands on her except for the techs, at least not until they've graduated." He narrowed his eyes at Raleigh for added emphasis.

Yancy laughed. "I'll keep him from sneaking down there."

"You're nearly as bad as he is Yance, don't kid yourself." Tendo responded to the look the older Becket gave him with a closed-lipped smile. "I'm not losing my job for a couple of hotshot pilot wannabes."

Raleigh and Yancy elbowed their friend at the same time, jostling him and drawing out the laughter he was just barely keeping down.

The moment passed and the three men were left, staring at the nearly completed Jaeger, all thinking in their own ways, that she was a thing of beauty. Raleigh leaned on the railing beside Tendo, momentarily taking his eyes from the massive mech in front of him to watch the crew scurrying around on the Shatterdome floor, to watch the techs attached to their safety harnesses climbing over her, moving heedlessly between showers of sparks gleaming against the steel blue of her plating. The riveted plates and rigidity to her design reminded Raleigh of the planes and tanks and equipment he read about from World War II; she looked powerful even standing still, she looked ready for a fight. She looked dangerous.

Raleigh wanted to have a name for her soon. It felt wrong for her to exist without a name.

A chorus of surprised voices went up from the Jaeger's shoulder and Raleigh, Yancy, and Tendo turned to see what had caused the commotion, moving down the gantry to get a better look. The interior of the shoulder was exposed and the techs were yelling over a loud grinding noise; sparks flew from the Jaeger at an alarming rate. A few of the techs were perched around the opening, holding back wires and trying to get the situation under control without getting too badly burned or injured. For a few seconds, it looked like no one would get close enough, but then a small form, silhouetted against the shower of fire, clambered over the others and dove in, the light reflecting off welding goggles and revealing heavy gloves covering their arms nearly to the shoulder.

The long braid trailing behind the daredevil exposed her identity.

"Elissa," Tendo said, turning her name into a curse.

Raleigh knew Tendo was worried about the little mechanic, and from the look on his face as he leaned farther over the railing, Yancy was as well. By all accounts, Raleigh should have been worried too—what she was doing was reckless and stupid and was likely to get her seriously injured or killed—but he couldn't help but be impressed. She worked quickly, but her movements were precise and it wasn't long before the shower of sparks lessened, and then disappeared altogether. A small cheer went up from the other techs, and several of them patted Elissa on the back. When she returned to the catwalk however, her father was waiting with a stern expression and what looked like some pretty heated words.

"She's something else," Tendo breathed, voice still tight with worry.

The words left Raleigh's mouth before he could stop them, the small smile on his lips betraying his more private thoughts. "Yeah, she is." He closed his eyes as soon as he'd spoken, and he could practically feel Tendo and Yancy grinning at him.

"Sounds like someone has a crush."

Raleigh snorted, trying to brush the moment off. He'd be lying if he said he'd never thought about him and Elissa, but the thoughts had only been casual—the brief musings of one stranger finding another attractive and considering what a kiss, a night together, might be like. He'd never spoken about the thoughts though, not to anyone. Those brief musings became slightly more awkward to think about when said strangers spent more time together, when they became friends. He rolled his eyes to emphasize how ridiculous Yancy's notion was, and gave him an indignant look.

"Name one other tech you've seen who would pull something like that," he said, gesturing toward the Jaeger.

Yancy's grin was unrelenting. "Sure, it was impressive, but I sense more than just professional admiration, Rals." Raleigh dodged the elbow aimed at his ribs, which sent Yancy and Tendo to laughing.

"Uh oh—Little Sister incoming," Tendo said suddenly.

Raleigh turned to watch Elissa approach, her face a thundercloud. When he turned back, he found Tendo and Yancy halfway off the gantry; his brother tossed a grin over his shoulder and touched two fingers to his forehead in salute. Raleigh jabbed his middle finger in Yancy's direction, before turning his back on them. Elissa's gaze had found him and she'd altered her course to come right for him, her messy braid and hard little fists swinging in time with the clang of her heavy boots on the catwalk. There were smudges of ash from the sparks on her cheeks, and the faint imprint from her goggles around her eyes.

She stopped several feet away from Raleigh, her hands on her hips, fingers twisted around the band of her tool belt. "Your Jaeger is either going to kill me or get me fired," she snapped.

Raleigh raised an eyebrow, suppressing the urge to laugh. "From where I was standing, you dove into those sparks on your own."

Elissa punched his shoulder lightly, some of the dirt from her fingers transferring to Raleigh's t-shirt. "Oh, like I'd let your girl's first run get delayed this close to completion." She exhaled a long breath, the rest of her anger leaving her body in a rush. She leaned on the railing and clasped her hands in front of her. Raleigh took up a position beside her, close enough so their arms touched. "That was a pretty stupid move though."

"Yup."

Elissa turned her head to look at Raleigh, her cheek pressed to her shoulder. He gave her a small smile and nudged her arm, which brought a matching smile to Elissa's lips, followed by a short burst of laughter. The adrenaline from her stunt was fading, and Raleigh could see the slump in her shoulders that meant she was growing tired. For a few heartbeats, they held each other's gaze, and then Elissa turned her attention back to the giant robot in front of them.

"She have a name yet?" she asked.

Raleigh shrugged. "I've been tossing some things around, but nothing seems right." He sighed, his mind automatically running through the possibilities he'd thought of once more. "She's going to need a name soon."

"Yes she will."

A new idea came to him in the midst of turning over the old names, and the wake of what had transpired. It was a good name, the perfect name, and Raleigh felt a grin spreading across his face as he said it over and over again in his mind.

"Gipsy Danger," he whispered. Elissa turned her face to him, a flare of welding sparks lighting her face. Raleigh met her eyes and spread his hands to either side as he stepped back from the railing. "Gipsy Danger. That's her name. Strong and powerful like old war machines, and like you said, already drawing blood."

Elissa's grin matched his and she gestured back towards the Shatterdome proper. "Well what are you waiting for? Go tell Yancy."

Raleigh's grin turned into a warm smile and he squeezed Elissa's shoulder before he turned and jogged down the catwalk.


End file.
